The quality of this blade was roughly on par with the ones he had used previously—cheap swords costing less than fifty thousand ryo.
It was several levels inferior to his Warring States ninja sword.
"Bang!"
His ninja sword shattered, the young Rain Ninja found himself unable to withstand the combination of Uchiha Gen's swordsmanship and the insight provided by his Sharingan.
His body took several hits before he was kicked violently against a thick oak trunk.
"Clang!"
Uchiha Gen was relentless, pressing his advantage with a thrust aimed straight for the throat.
The young Rain Ninja barely managed to intercept it with his broken blade.
Tilting his Warring States sword slightly, Uchiha Gen pressed his left hand against the spine of the blade.
He pushed down inch by inch until the edge reached the young Rain Ninja's neck, slicing into the skin.
"You evil Great Nation ninja... you want to kill me? It won't be... that easy!"
Gritting his teeth, the young Rain Ninja squeezed out the words with difficulty.
Summoning a sudden burst of strength, he actually managed to prevent Uchiha Gen from pushing the blade any deeper.
"Heh."
A disdainful, villainous smirk spread across Uchiha Gen's face.
Complemented by his crimson Sharingan, he looked even more like a true antagonist.
"Your captain claimed earlier that a single-tomoe Sharingan lacks Genjutsu capability."
"But don't forget, while the Uchiha rely on the Sharingan to cast Genjutsu, it isn't strictly necessary to depend solely on it."
Uchiha Gen extended a finger and formed a hand seal with one hand, right in front of the young Rain Ninja.
"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana."
The young Rain Ninja wanted to close his eyes, but he found his attention had long since been captured by that finger.
Under the crimson glow of the Sharingan, he was unable to move.
There is no such thing as the strongest Ninjutsu; even a simple, basic technique can demonstrate vastly different levels of power in different hands.
Although the Temple of Nirvana was only a common D-rank Genjutsu, Uchiha Gen had used a Skill Proficiency Card on it after learning it.
This had elevated his mastery to an extremely proficient level.
While the boost from a single-tomoe Sharingan to Genjutsu wasn't massive, it still provided assistance.
Combined with the fact that they were face-to-face, he could simplify the seal-forming process to one hand.
He plunged the enemy into the terrors of the mental world—the effect of his Temple of Nirvana was to force the enemy into a vision of their deepest fears.
"Sleep eternally within the depths of your heart's fears."
Feeling the resistance in the enemy's hands vanish, Uchiha Gen cleanly decapitated the young Rain Ninja with a single strike.
He then turned back to observe the battlefield.
Two months of consolidated training had allowed the strength of Uchiha Gen's two teammates to rise by another half-step.
The Rain Ninja whom Sarutobi Enjun was facing was likely the second strongest among them, definitely considered an elite among Chunin.
Only with the help of the twin-headed giant python was Enjun barely able to fight him to a draw.
In comparison, Uzuki Ruri's situation was much better.
Even though she was fighting one against two, her enemies were in poor condition, and she was the one holding the initiative.
Moreover, this was the Land of Rain.
Most of the enemies excelled in Water Release, but Ruri's primary area of study was also Water Release.
This effectively neutralized the enemies' environmental advantage.
At the current rate, his two teammates wouldn't just hold out.
If the fight continued, they even had a decent chance of winning.
But the prerequisite for all of that was...
Uchiha Gen looked toward another part of the battlefield.
The black-scaled giant snake, Black Snake, let out a pained hiss.
After sustaining heavy injuries, it voluntarily dispelled the Summoning Technique and returned to Ryūchi Cave.
Although they were both giant snakes with over a century of cultivation, its strength was a notch below Ketsuhan's.
Even though the latter had been injured by the Rain Ninja Squad Leader, it wasn't to the point of needing an immediate return to Ryūchi Cave.
It still maintained some combat effectiveness.
"Now, I can finally focus on dealing with you."
Uchiha Gen kicked aside the head at his feet, dispelled the two Rashōmon Gates, swallowed a soldier pill, and began to form hand seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Nail Crimson!"
Sparks of fire flew out, enhanced by spinning shuriken.
They struck toward the Rain Ninja Squad Leader with extreme speed and eerie trajectories.
The squad leader jumped back, avoiding Ketsuhan's massive maw, and spat out a curtain of water to protect himself.
His special Water Release, which had undergone Nature Transformation, possessed a higher liquid density and was more viscous.
This made his attacks more unpredictable while also providing better defense than ordinary Water Release Ninjutsu.
Uchiha Gen used the Body Flicker Technique to appear atop Ketsuhan's head.
After forming seals, he slammed his palm down, condensing powerful wind pressure in his hand.
Although his proficiency in Wind Release was a step below his Fire Release, Wind was not countered by Water.
Furthermore, its inherent sharpness was more effective against such viscous liquids.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm."
The intense wind pressure condensed into a blade, cutting cleanly through the water curtain.
"Damn it!"
The Rain Ninja Squad Leader cursed.
How did this Uchiha possess such strength at this age?
He only had a single-tomoe Sharingan.
Yet, whether it was his exquisite Fire Release, proficient Wind Release, strange defensive Ninjutsu, or powerful Summoned Beasts, none of it seemed normal.
Even as an elite ninja under Hanzo, he found this extremely troublesome.
Even though he was clearly superior in terms of Ninjutsu mastery and other fundamentals, he still couldn't defeat the opponent.
He had even allowed one of his own subordinates to be killed.
The remaining two young ninja weren't pushovers either.
They were firmly blocking his teammates, causing the situation to fall into a stalemate.
The trouble didn't stop there.
He hadn't forgotten that this area was currently occupied by Konoha ninja.
It was impossible for his side to receive reinforcements.
Having been stalled for so long, Konoha reinforcements could arrive at any moment.
That would be the truly fatal blow.
"I must break out as soon as possible."
"Even if I can't save my teammates, I have to return and deliver the intelligence to Lord Hanzo!"
He could no longer worry about Chakra consumption!
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A torrent of water surged forth like a small lake, sweeping toward Uchiha Gen's position.
The latter immediately swung his hand to the side.
He summoned several long snakes that acted like ropes to bind a distant tree, pulling himself away and swinging toward higher ground.
As for Ketsuhan, Uchiha Gen directly dispelled the Summoning Technique, sending the beast back to Ryūchi Cave.
Its body was too large, and its mobility had significantly decreased after being injured.
It couldn't possibly dodge this powerful Water Release Ninjutsu.
Since he could dodge it himself, there was no need to force a Summoned Beast to tank the damage like Sasuke would.
At a time like this, trying to meet the enemy head-on would be foolish.
While in mid-air, Uchiha Gen not only avoided the impact of the massive Water Release, but he also gained a superior field of vision.
This allowed him to easily see the enemy attempting to flee into the distance under the cover of the water.
"You think you can get away?"
His Sharingan precisely tracked the Rain Ninja Squad Leader's escape path.
Simultaneously, Uchiha Gen threw out several kunai with exploding tags attached to their ends.